McCarthy to get 'red shirt' year

[StickierBuns]

https://www.on3.com/pro/news/jj-mccarthy...ning-camp/

Fine by me. Its all depends on Darnold. Its going to be tough if by game 4 or 5, Darnold is a dumpster fire and U.S. Bank is filled with 'Let's go JJ' chants. I'm rooting for Darnold for a variety of reasons, but if the wheels have to come off for him, please make it game 12 or 13. Now I'm making an assumption that Sam is going to suck, sooner or later, but if he has some kind of large improvement, its a great thing for the team. He's just 26 and very toolsy from a QB standard.

[comet52]

https://www.on3.com/pro/news/jj-mccarthy...ning-camp/

Fine by me. Its all depends on Darnold. Its going to be tough if by game 4 or 5, Darnold is a dumpster fire and U.S. Bank is filled with 'Let's go JJ' chants. I'm rooting for Darnold for a variety of reasons, but if the wheels have to come off for him, please make it game 12 or 13. Now I'm making an assumption that Sam is going to suck, sooner or later, but if he has some kind of large improvement, its a great thing for the team. He's just 26 and very toolsy from a QB standard.

I can't think of an example of someone who looked bad for 6 years then suddenly was even average let alone good. But I suppose miracles happen somehow sometimes somewhere.

He struggles with pressure, can't read on the fly which leads to bad throws. He kinda needs a one-read college type offense IMHO. But that's useless in the pros.

There's no doubt he has physical talent but like a lot of guys, the issues stem from the neck up.

He'll probably look a little better just due to circumstance - throwing to a decent WR group and having a positive staff handling him, but producing a miraculous improvement seems unlikely.

[StickierBuns]

I can't think of an example of someone who looked bad for 6 years then suddenly was even average let alone good.  But I suppose miracles happen somehow sometimes somewhere.

He struggles with pressure, can't read on the fly which leads to bad throws.  He kinda needs a one-read college type offense IMHO.  But that's useless in the pros.

There's no doubt he has physical talent but like a lot of guys, the issues stem from the neck up.

He'll probably look a little better just due to circumstance - throwing to a decent WR group and having a positive staff handling him, but producing a miraculous improvement seems unlikely.

Odds are definitely against it.....and that's probably an understatement. I just want him to hang in past Week 12 as the starter. KOC isn't obtuse or purposefully deceitful in any evaluations, but he can be overly optimistic and there's CoachSpeak in some of what he says. 

Camp is about a month away, give or take? It will be interesting.

[JimmyinSD]

If Darnold can't then I hope they have sense to ride another placeholder until JJ is ready, putting him out there early, just because somebody else wasn't successful is not committing to a plan and is a recipe for disaster.

[purplefaithful]

I think Darnold is going to do just fine.  Everything out of underwear olympic season said he was doing exceedingly well. 

Sooner or later (in camp) KOC will release his depth chart.

I suspect JJM will be #3 - fueling stoopid bust speculation, but also protecting him from getting in too early this season if Darnold gets hurt.

[BigAl99]

I can't think of an example of someone who looked bad for 6 years then suddenly was even average let alone good.  But I suppose miracles happen somehow sometimes somewhere.

He struggles with pressure, can't read on the fly which leads to bad throws.  He kinda needs a one-read college type offense IMHO.  But that's useless in the pros.

There's no doubt he has physical talent but like a lot of guys, the issues stem from the neck up.

He'll probably look a little better just due to circumstance - throwing to a decent WR group and having a positive staff handling him, but producing a miraculous improvement seems unlikely.

Steve Young? Long time ago but he had four bad years in bad organizations till he got to SF.

[Psyched Vike]

I can't think of an example of someone who looked bad for 6 years then suddenly was even average let alone good.  But I suppose miracles happen somehow sometimes somewhere.

He struggles with pressure, can't read on the fly which leads to bad throws.  He kinda needs a one-read college type offense IMHO.  But that's useless in the pros.

There's no doubt he has physical talent but like a lot of guys, the issues stem from the neck up.

He'll probably look a little better just due to circumstance - throwing to a decent WR group and having a positive staff handling him, but producing a miraculous improvement seems unlikely.

I am hoping for a Geno Smith-type resurgence that takes all of us on a wild ride into the playoffs with Darnold playing well above the norm for him to date.  I think there is a pretty good chance of that happening (in my mind anyways) with just surrounding talent helping him feel more comfortable.  It really boils down to the O-Line though, as Sam's big weak spot is against strong rush fronts, where he seems to lose focus, starts "seeing ghosts out there" and starts hucking up unadvised throws.  The consensus odds are certainly against Sam having a career resurrection year or us getting that wild ride, but I sure as hell am hoping for an underdog, feel-good season.

[MaroonBells]

I can't think of an example of someone who looked bad for 6 years then suddenly was even average let alone good.  But I suppose miracles happen somehow sometimes somewhere.

He struggles with pressure, can't read on the fly which leads to bad throws.  He kinda needs a one-read college type offense IMHO.  But that's useless in the pros.

There's no doubt he has physical talent but like a lot of guys, the issues stem from the neck up.

He'll probably look a little better just due to circumstance - throwing to a decent WR group and having a positive staff handling him, but producing a miraculous improvement seems unlikely.

You're not going to find an exact comp, but there have been several QBs who turned a crap career around. 

Alex Smith was the #1 overall pick, but five different OCs in 5 years stunted his development. When he finally got some stability, he went to three Pro Bowls. 

Rich Gannon did almost nothing with three teams in 12 years. He goes to Oakland where Gruden's WCO fits him like a glove and he goes to 4 straight Pro Bowls and won the MVP. 

Len Dawson might be the best one. He was drafted 5th overall, struggled in Pittsburgh for three seasons, was traded to Cleveland where he also did nothing and was released after his 2nd season there. At the age of 27, he was picked by the Texans/Chiefs where he was a perfect fit for Hank Stram. Dawson was voted MVP his 1st season there and he went on to win three championships and a Super Bowl.

Vinny Testaverde and Ryan Tannehill come to mind as well.

[FLVike]

If he gets pressure or panics all he has to do is close his eyes and chuck it in JJ's direction.

[Vanguard83]

What scares me about Darnold is his "pucker factor". Say what you want about how he looks in camp / TC / practice, etc. but when bodies start flying around in GAMES, does he have that "clutch" gene? Will he eat the ball or throw it away instead of doing something stupid with it? Will he stand in and take a shot to get the ball out? How about the location of his passes? Does he open up his WR's to taking unnecessary hits?

So many factors when considering a QB